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Page 556
Glossary of Medieval Terms
BAILEY
any open area surrounded by the walls of a castle
BAILIFF
a person charged with the administrative duties of an estate; the agent who collects and manages an estate or farm for the landlord
CASTELLAN
the governor or constable of a castle, assigned at the will of the ''holder" of the castle and liable to removal at that "holder's" will
DEMESNE
the land held and possessed by the owner and not rented or controlled by any subordinate, such as a vassal or castellan
DESTRIER
a war horse, a highly bred and highly trained animal
DISSEISE
to put out of possession; to dispossess a person so that his legal heirs were also disqualified from inheriting; the term was usually used when the dispossession was wrongful
HAUBERK
armor; the mail shirt made up of linked rings or chains of metal
INTERDICT
a sentence issued by a high ecclesiastical officer (bishop, archbishop or pope) who debarred a place or person from church functions
JUSTICIAR
technically a judge, but one with considerable power

 
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